{"id":7471,"date":"2014-06-19T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=7471"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:07:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:07:17","slug":"celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#8217;s Alex Koblenz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted of that evening. Countless hours spent searching on Google didn\u2019t provide Alex with the answers he was looking for, so he decided to create <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pradux.com\/\">Pradux<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Pradux, pronounced \u201cproducts,\u201d just released their first <a href=\"http:\/\/aka.ms\/pradux_win8\">app<\/a>\u00a0in the Window Store recently.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to Alex about how his team is building the largest database of celebrity style, how they overcame their biggest screw up, and his advice to share with aspiring entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-5.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7600\" alt=\"20140606 Alex Koblenz Pradux-5\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-5.jpg?resize=1280%2C853\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" data-wp-pid=\"7600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m originally from New York<\/strong>, but I attended George Washington University in Washington D.C. One week after graduation, I worked at a hedge fund for four and half years where I focused on retail and technology stocks. From there, I had the courage to make the leap to start a company. Some of my first investors came from my fund and encouraged me to take a shot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pradux\u00a0allows users to shop the world&#8217;s largest database of styles worn by television stars and celebrities.<\/strong> In addition, users can share their own style and trends and earn cash money provided that consumers purchase merchandise through their page.<\/p>\n<p><strong>One of our biggest mistakes was not getting the product out to the public quickly.<\/strong> Nothing will ever be perfect, and you\u2019ll constantly be iterating and improving. However, there is a point when you can start getting feedback and build a user base, even when the product doesn\u2019t include everything you had envisioned.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Screen-Shot-2014-06-18-at-2.29.53-PM.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7620\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2014-06-18 at 2.29.53 PM\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Screen-Shot-2014-06-18-at-2.29.53-PM.png?resize=1690%2C736\" width=\"1690\" height=\"736\" data-wp-pid=\"7620\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Part of being a leader is being able to accept feedback from other people.<\/strong> Surround yourself with individuals who have an expertise in areas where you don\u2019t, such as engineering or design. I listen to opinions from these experts and mix them with my own to help me make decisions.<\/p>\n<p>Proper communication is extremely important as well, whether you have a small or a large team. It\u2019s essential for everyone on the team to know why we\u2019re doing certain things so they understand how the current work they\u2019re doing will affect the company\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s an extremely long journey when you\u2019re in a startup.<\/strong>\u00a0Each day, you should point to some type of progress you\u2019ve made as a company, no matter how small the accomplishment.\u00a0Take some time to celebrate the successes because there will be plenty of failures. As an entrepreneur who is trying to create something from nothing, I am constantly pushing a ball uphill. Sometimes it\u2019s okay to look down at how far you\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n<p class=\"finalnote\" style=\"font-size: 15px;\">Photographs by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.laurenkallen.com\/\">Lauren Kallen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted of that evening. Countless hours spent searching on Google didn\u2019t provide Alex with the answers he was looking for, so he decided to create Pradux. Pradux, pronounced \u201cproducts,\u201d just released their [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":887,"featured_media":7601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#039;s Alex Koblenz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted o\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#039;s Alex Koblenz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted o\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ideas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-19T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-30T23:07:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?resize=1440,810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#8217;s Alex Koblenz\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-19T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-30T23:07:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\"},\"wordCount\":452,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049\",\"articleSection\":[\"Professional Development\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\",\"name\":\"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux's Alex Koblenz\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-19T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-30T23:07:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted o\u2026\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049\",\"width\":3953,\"height\":2049},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"\/ideas\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Professional Development\",\"item\":\"\/ideas\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#8217;s Alex Koblenz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/\",\"name\":\"Ideas\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WeWork\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55\",\"width\":55,\"height\":55,\"caption\":\"WeWork\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/author\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux's Alex Koblenz","description":"Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted o\u2026","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux's Alex Koblenz","og_description":"Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted o\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz","og_site_name":"Ideas","article_published_time":"2014-06-19T18:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-30T23:07:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1440,"height":810,"url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?resize=1440,810","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#8217;s Alex Koblenz","datePublished":"2014-06-19T18:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-30T23:07:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz"},"wordCount":452,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049","articleSection":["Professional Development"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz","name":"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux's Alex Koblenz","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049","datePublished":"2014-06-19T18:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-30T23:07:17+00:00","description":"Native New Yorker Alex Koblenz had a dilemma. After attending a Jay-Z concert, he wanted to know what the renowned hip-hop artist\u2019s wardrobe consisted o\u2026","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049","width":3953,"height":2049},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/celebrate-success-startup-says-praduxs-alex-koblenz#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"\/ideas"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Professional Development","item":"\/ideas"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Celebrate each success in your startup, says Pradux&#8217;s Alex Koblenz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/","name":"Ideas","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#organization","name":"WeWork","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/04\/welogo_black_55x55.jpg?fit=55%2C55","width":55,"height":55,"caption":"WeWork"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/author"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/06\/20140606-Alex-Koblenz-Pradux-1.jpg?fit=3953%2C2049","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/887"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45214,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7471\/revisions\/45214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}